The present invention relates to supports for conductors or similar items that can be assembled, with the conductors, into a flexible chain-like carrier belt and, in particular, to a carrier belt to provide conductor connections between a rotatable apparatus and a stationary part.
A number of types of supports for electrical conductors exist such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,082,099 by V. I. Cruser where electrical conductors are connected to a plurality of electrical devices, the conductors being taken from a cable at a plurality of points. One cable support shown and described in this US Patent has a curved shaped supporting bar for the cable with spaced wire loops extending from upper edges of the bar. The wire loops have rounded surfaces to prevent any tearing or cutting of the insulated covering on the conductors. The spaced loops have openings through which conductors can be removed from the cable at various locations and connected to separate electrical devices. The rounded edges and curved support bar on which the cable rests prevent damage to the insulated covering on the conductors.
Other types of supports for retaining a cable or coil are described by K. Shinohara et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,260 and, in particular, supporting clamps to retain degaussing coils around the outer periphery of a cathode-ray tube. Most of the coil clamps described by K. Shinohara et al have a flexible, elongated, thin plate-shaped main body or frame with an anchor portion at one end that can be press fitted into a mounting hole, such as one located in a bracket of a cathode-ray tube. These types of coil clamps can be integrally formed of a flexible material such as a resin. One of the clamps described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,260 has two spaced U-shaped protrusions on the elongated frame which form retaining spaces in which degaussing coils can be supported and retained. The degaussing coils are held in each retaining space by a flexible pressing plate extending from the frame and which is located at an opening of the U-shaped protrusions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,497 by Douglas C. Michael describes another support, in this case an installation strip for installing electrical wires to speed up that installation and then act as a support for the electrical wires. The strips include a base with an elongated top surface that can be mounted on a supporting structural element. A plurality of spaced retention hooks for electrical wires extend outwardly from the elongated base. Each retention hook includes a first leg extending outwardly from the base, a second leg extending out from the end of the first leg and parallel to the base with a detent angled downwardly from the end of the second leg to capture and retain an electrical wire in the space between the second leg and the base. The entire installation strip can be formed of a suitable plastic material.
The previously described supports for electrical wires are all designed to retain the wires stationary and are not suitable to connect the wires to moveable equipment since this would result in bending the wires that might cause damage to the insulation on those wires.
It is an object of the present invention to provide fluted links to hold electrical conductors, optical fiber cables or other conductors securely without any damage to the conductors or cables.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a flexible chain-like carrier belt made of fluted links to hold electrical conductors, optical fibers or other conductors securely without any damage to the conductors or fibers when the belt is moved in order to supply connections to rotating or moveable equipment.
A support for transfer lines, according to one embodiment of the invention, comprises at least one fluted link having an elongated base, portions at each end of the base extending towards a front of the link, each end portion containing an aperture oriented perpendicular to the length of the elongated base, the apertures extending through the thickness of the end portions, the fluted link having a plurality of U-shaped recesses with openings facing towards said front, the U-shaped recesses extend through the thickness of the link from one side to the other and have dimensions that allow the transfer lines to be fitted into the U-shaped recesses, the U-shaped recesses being parallel to said apertures.
A support for transfer lines, according to another embodiment of the invention, comprises a carrier belt formed of a plurality of fluted links having an elongated base, portions at each end of the base extending towards a front of the link, each end portion containing an aperture oriented perpendicular to the length of the elongated base, the apertures extending through the thickness of the end portions, the fluted link having a plurality of U-shaped recesses with openings facing towards said front, the U-shaped recesses extend through the thickness of the link from one side to the other and have dimensions that allow the transfer lines to be fitted into the U-shaped recesses, the U-shaped recesses being parallel to said apertures, a wire extending through adjacent apertures in both end portions, the wires holding the fluted links together forming said carrier belt, most adjacent links in the carrier belt facing in opposite directions with the transfer lines being fitted into said U-shaped recesses.